OT: NHL inks 7 year deal with ESPN

[Blackhawkswincup]

ESPN has hired Mark Messier to be studio analyst

Not a fan of this move to be honest

Never cared for Messier (He was disaster in Vancouver on and off the ice) and dont feel he is best voice to talk about today's game and today's NHL

 

[ClydeLee]

It's a name hire. If thr coverage is gonna be Milburry/Jones level bad still it helps presumably if that guy is someone a big market, New York should have some knowledge of.

 

[RayP]

I can't even remember the last time I heard Messier speak in any context, but my immediate reaction/memory of him is that he is about as bland and boring as it gets.

 

[Drumman44]

I can't even remember the last time I heard Messier speak in any context, but my immediate reaction/memory of him is that he is about as bland and boring as it gets.

There's another level

 

[jaysoneil]

LFG

 

[Toews2Bickell]

they just hired chelios as an analyst so i guess he's done as a hawks ambassador

 

[RayP]

they just hired chelios as an analyst so i guess he's done as a hawks ambassador

Messier, Chelios…. ESPN picking up right where they left off with NHL coverage.

 

[Toews2Bickell]

Messier, Chelios…. ESPN picking up right where they left off with NHL coverage.

imagine if they hire jr

 

[madgoat33]

Not sure if he has any interest, but i think Luongo would be an interesting guy to have involved in some way. Very entertaining interviewee, not sure if it would translate but id like to see it.

 

[RayP]

Not sure if he has any interest, but i think Luongo would be an interesting guy to have involved in some way. Very entertaining interviewee, not sure if it would translate but id like to see it.

I’d figure if he had any interest he’d sign with a Canadian company. I’d love to see him pick up a gig. He seems really fully and witty.

 

[madgoat33]

I’d figure if he had any interest he’d sign with a Canadian company. I’d love to see him pick up a gig. He seems really fully and witty.

I hated him when the hawks were playing vancouver every year in the playoffs, but then he really grew on me

 

[RayP]

I hated him when the hawks were playing vancouver every year in the playoffs, but then he really grew on me

Same. His Twitter sold me over. The fact he can mock himself…. Well, I always love someone who can crap on themselves.

 

[Pez68]

I want to see Bryzgalov. He was hilarious.

 

[Blackhawkswincup]

 

[CanmoreMike]

ESPN has hired Mark Messier to be studio analyst

Not a fan of this move to be honest

Never cared for Messier (He was disaster in Vancouver on and off the ice) and dont feel he is best voice to talk about today's game and today's NHL

I was at the 2010 Bronze medal game in Vancouver between Slovakia-Finland and during a TV timeout or intermission there was an interview blasted on the jumbotron featuring the Moose.

To say there were booes doesn't do it justice. And I was at the Swiss-USA game where Jack Johnson was mercilessly jeered whenever he touched the puck (apparently 2006 WJC hit on Steve Downie and Canuck faithful never forgot).

So yes. He was a disaster.

 

[DisgruntledHawkFan]

I can't even remember the last time I heard Messier speak in any context, but my immediate reaction/memory of him is that he is about as bland and boring as it gets.

He's a humongous douche.

 

[JaegerDice]

ESPN just awarded Patrick Kane the ESPY for best NHL player, which is a pretty good sign of how little they pay attention to or understand the game.

 

[Kaners Bald Spot]

I hope they run a program similar to The Jump for hockey.

 

[Kaners Bald Spot]

ESPN just awarded Patrick Kane the ESPY for best NHL player, which is a pretty good sign of how little they pay attention to or understand the game.

McDavid will get it next year, don't worry.

 

[Brightwing]

ESPN just awarded Patrick Kane the ESPY for best NHL player, which is a pretty good sign of how little they pay attention to or understand the game.

Isn't part of it a fan vote?

So ESPN viewers, who are American, are more familiar with the star of the Chicago Blackhawks than guys who play for Edmonton or Tampa.

It's almost like Chicago is one of the premiere hockey markets in America.

 

[Kaners PPGs]

None of the announced analysts for ESPN and TNT have been very exciting so far. Get some younger, recently retired analysts. Some of the best interviews and analysis I have seen over the last year has been from guys like Keven Bieksa, Colby Armstrong, Bissonette and Whitney, and even Sharp when he loosens up a little. Someone mentioned Versteeg as a Hawks studio analyst and that is the type of hire I want to see. Sure, they might be a little silly at times but the energy is needed. Find the NHL equivalent of Tony Romo rather than going with the stuffy, conservative Canadians like Gretzky and Messier. And those guys don't resonate with people in their 20s and 30s anyways.

 

[x Tame Impala]

Isn't part of it a fan vote?

So ESPN viewers, who are American, are more familiar with the star of the Chicago Blackhawks than guys who play for Edmonton or Tampa.

It's almost like Chicago is one of the premiere hockey markets in America.

Or that the NHL is awful at marketing their star players…

 

[Blackhawkswincup]

Weird to see Keith deal and McGuire news on bottom of screen during HR derby

ESPN used to just ignore hockey but had it prominent on bottom scrawl now

 

[CanmoreMike]

Weird to see Keith deal and McGuire news on bottom of screen during HR derby

ESPN used to just ignore hockey but had it prominent on bottom scrawl now

I'm Canadian - how relevant is ESPN today in the US? I know it used to be hailed as the pinnacle for hockey to aspire to. Is the NHL getting back on ESPN on its downward slide? That's what it seems to me from afar. But I've been wrong before.

 

[TorMapleJays]

Disney is not in the business of losing money.